As its name suggests, Reel Hope was a night spent at the movies. Dress was casual and depending on the year, guests either took popcorn and boxed suppers to their seats, or feasted on heavy hors d’oeuvres prior to the screening.

But as regional premieres of top movies became increasingly harder to land, a decision was made to tweak the format and change the name to Real Hope, which better reflects the JFS mission.

With a larger crowd and the highest gross income in event history, it proved to be a smart move.

Instead of sitting down to a movie, 550 guests assembled on the United Club Level West at Sports Authority Field for an evening that was short, sweet and yielded $566,000 in gross receipts.

As guests entered the party area, they could pause for red carpet photos before proceeding in to enjoy cocktails, international food stations and passed savories from Epicurean and entertainment by Frequent Flyers Productions that included stilt walk dancers, silk rope aerialists and an “object manipulatoran,” or illusionist.

The sushi station.

In keeping with tradition, two awards were presented: the Kal Zeff Business Leader of the Year went to Sheila Bugdanowitz, president and chief executive officer of Rose Community Foundation, and the Jack Shapiro Community Service Award to Sheryl Goodman, a fourth-generation Denver native, was adopted through JFS as a child and continues to pay it forward by serving on the JFS board of directors and actively supporting the agency’s Jewish Disabilities Network.

Bugdanowitz oversees Rose Community Foundation’s philanthropic services, grant making, financial management and marketing. She was introduced to the nonprofit world by serving as a candy striper at Rose Medical Center. She is on the board of Mountain States Employers Council and is a member of the Women’s Forum of Colorado. Earlier this year, she was honored at National Philanthropy Day in Colorado as Outstanding Professional in Philanthropy/Grantmaking.

In addition, JFS Senior Solutions client and Holocaust survivor Eddie Fiss told his touching story of how JFS helped him in the 1950s when he moved to this country and continues to help him today. The evening ended with songs from the state champion a capella group MIX from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Founded in 1872, JFS is a nonsectarian, nonprofit human services agency serving metro Denver and Boulder. JFS helps seniors live independently at home, provides quality mental health counseling, offers training and job placement to those with developmental disabilities and other barriers to employment, and provides food and financial aid to people in crisis. Every year, the agency benefits more than 25,000 people of all ages, faiths, incomes and abilities.

Steve Farber outside the Denver Art Museum, where the party hosted by his law firm was held Sunday night. Photo by Joanne Davidson, The Denver Post

It must be tough to be Steve Farber, this week especially. As one of those responsible for bringing the Democratic National Convention to Denver, his schedule is daunting, to say the least.
Someone said he has almost 400 commitments during the convention’s run, and he’ll probably make all of them. But even this Energizer Bunny has his limits.
“I was so tired today that I passed out (for a nap) at 4 o’clock,” he admitted as he and law partner Norm Brownstein prepared to welcome about 2,000 of their friends at a “welcome to the DNC” party held Sunday night at the Denver Art Museum.
ProLogis and American Clean Skies were the co-hosts.
Crowded as Farber’s itinerary is, it pales next to that of Gov. Bill Ritter, who also attended the DAM bash. Ritter could only stay for a minute because he was due at Red Rocks Amphitheater to introduce singer Sheryl Crow.
Academy Award winning actress Charlize Theron had RSVP’d with a “yes” to the Farber fete; whether she made it was still up in the air at press time. Those who were there: media mogul Ted Turner, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas; Kathleen Brown, sister of former California Gov. Jerry Brown; and such local luminaries as U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, former legislator Tim Wirth; Rosemary Rodriguez, Denver’s former clerk and recorder who is now a member of the Election Assistance Commission; Stephanie Foote, president of the 2008 Roundtable Series; and John Morland, managing director/global communities for ProLogis.
DAM Director Lewis Sharp was there, too, as was former Gov. Bill Owens; Larry Mizel; Tom Strickland; Jeremy Kinney with wife Holly Arnold Kinney, owner of The Fort restaurant; Goldman Sachs vice chairman Bob Hormats; former Denver City Attorney Cole Finegan; Josh Hanfling; Blair and Kristin Richardson; Michael and Shereen Pollak, owners of Hyde Park Jewelers; attorneys David and Patty Powell; Walt and Georgia Imhoff; MDC President David Mandarich and wife, Bonnie; Linda and Dr. Richard Kelley; Barry Hitschfeld; Eula and Janet Adams; Paul Esserman; attorney Hubert Farbes; Dick and Marcia Robinson with daughter and son-in-law Ellen and Mark Schwartz; Rose Community Foundation President Sheila Bugdanowitz; Larry and Julie Gelfond; Susan Kirk; Michael James; Rollie Jordan and Dr. Bill Silvers; Rose Community Foundation’s chief financial officer, Anne Garcia; and National Jewish Health President Michael Salem who, on Wednesday, is having a lunch at his home for U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye of Hawaii.

Pictures taken at the Welcome to the DNC party can be viewed at denverpost.com/seengallery

Denver Post Society Editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com